new Solutions for Hydropower plants to Enhance operational Range, Performance and improve environmental impact
Context
In the renewable energy sector, hydropower is valued for its environmental benefits and its significant role in meeting global energy demands. However, hydraulic turbines face challenges due to fluctuating market demand and limited energy storage, requiring them to operate under diverse conditions. This flexibility often forces turbines to run outside their optimal flow rate, reducing efficiency and causing operational instability.
A key issue arises from environmental flow (E-flow) constraints imposed on many hydropower plants (HPPs). These restrictions often force turbines to operate under off-design conditions, which can damage critical components. Furthermore, the abrasive and corrosive nature of water flow in these plants exacerbates wear on components, leading to increased maintenance costs, premature repairs, and potentially shortening the lifespan of both turbines and plants. This increases the overall cost of energy production, negatively affecting the plant’s cost efficiency and long-term sustainability.
Short summary
SHERPA’s main objective is to develop and validate innovative technologies for refurbishing current HPPs. These are, namely:
AM metallic patches and coatings to minimize damage and enhance resistance to cavitation
new strategies to adapt rotational speed depending on the flow range
advanced air injection systems to improve water quality and efficiency
new runner designs adapted to E-flows increasing performance
Modelling, simulation, and monitoring tools will assess the new solutions of in terms of energy output, flexible operation, cost-effectiveness, and impact on biodiversity. The goal is to expand and/or adapt the operational range of the HPP to include lower flows, without harming their lifetime, economic viability, and environmental and social impact.
The 10 technological challenges to solvetive Heading
SHERPA intends to develop, model, simulate and test the solutions specified in the TCs using an iterative methodology
3 project phases are planned to accomplish this, where WPs will interact and feed off one another to guarantee the solution’s strong and reliable maturity.
As cross-cutting activities, it is important to note also that socio-economic and ecological systems have become increasingly interconnected, which supports the conception of nature and society as interacting components of a larger dynamic and adaptive socio-ecological system. This is the rationale underlying the efforts to permeate the application of long-term ecosystem-based management (EBM) decisions and practices. Despite EBM concept is not new, there is an opportunity for innovative applications driven by technological progress such as the SHERPA outcome.
